Regulations and Government
Washington Report: FAA issues final FOQA rule
In what it called a major step toward reaching its “Safer Skies” goal of cutting the commercial aviation accident rate by 80 percent by 2007, the FAA has i

In what it called a major step toward reaching its “Safer Skies” goal of cutting the commercial aviation accident rate by 80 percent by 2007, the FAA has issued a final rule that protects the data collected under flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) programs from FAA enforcement actions, except in criminal or deliberate cases.

While FOQA programs currently are conducted by airlines, the FAA and other safety advocates have long held that eventually they could be expanded to larger aircraft in the GA fleet. Ten airlines currently have FOQA programs, one is pending FAA approval and five other carriers plan to initiate programs in the future. Approximately 1,525 aircraft, which span 13 aircraft types, are already collecting FOQA data.